


will we walk down the same road?

by dgalerab



Series: a fix-it, but more [3]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: (They're 20), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Don't Forget, Gen, M/M, Rated for Language and Copious References To Sexual Content, Road Trips, They Defeated Pennywise At 18, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-07 17:29:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20979674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dgalerab/pseuds/dgalerab
Summary: It's the second annual get-together of the Losers Club, and this time they're road tripping.What could go wrong, really?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's like no plot in this fic, it's just them being friends and a little bit in love with each other because I just have emotional needs, guys.
> 
> (Also, what's the consensus on skippeable smut within chapters bc I've done it before and it was fun but I won't if it makes people uncomfortable, because first and foremost this fic is about friends. (me, crying over the clown movie all the time: they're FRIENDS guys, they're FRIENDS.))

“Okay, I think we’re all packed,” Bev said, tucking her hair behind her ears. She checked the oven clock. “And we still have some time to ourselves.”

Ben looked up, thoroughly innocent. “Yeah. What do you want to do?”

“Well,” Bev said, straddling his lap. “We’re not going to have much privacy for the next week or two, so…”

“Oh,” Ben said, blushing lightly. “Would you like me to…?”

“Whatever you want to do, now’s the time.” She grinned, then kissed him.

His hands landed on her back and drew her closer. He was always so gentle, but this was one place he excelled at being firm, pressing strong hands to her waist. One hand grazed down her hips to her thigh, ever so carefully lifting her so he could lower her onto the couch, soft as a cloud.

He slid down her body to settle between her legs, giving her shy glances as he moved to unbutton her pants.

She bit her lip, worming her hands into his hair. 

The doorbell rang, and they both groaned.

“I’ll get it,” Ben said, letting her fix her pants. She quickly smoothed down his ruffled hair as he walked over to get the door. “Hey guys.”

“You’re early,” Bev said.

“It’s Eddie’s fault,” Stan said, leaning against the doorframe.

“It’s your car’s fault,” Eddie snapped. “That thing is not going to make it to LA.”

“Mike said he’ll look at it,” Stan said.

“What, and tell us when it’ll catch fire?” Eddie replied.

“Hi Bev,” Richie said, leaning past Ben to wave at her. “You look flushed.”

“Richie, you realize how much blackmail material I have on you, right?” Bev asked.

Richie shrugged as if to say, _Fair enough._

“No, but seriously,” Eddie said. “That car is a time bomb. We’re going to break down in Nevada and starve.”

“We’re not,” Richie said. “It’s _definitely _going to blow up.”

“That is not! Any! Better! Richie!”

“Shut up,” Stan sighed. “Mike and Bill flew into Newark a few hours ago, they’re going to get us hotel rooms in Harrisburg and we’ll meet there.”

“None of us know where Harrisburg is,” Richie said. “You know that, right?”

“I do,” Ben said. “Roughly…” He thought about it. “Three hours?”

“Jesus, why the fuck would you know that? You’re such a nerd,” Richie said. He leaned past him to peer into their apartment. “You got any food?”

“No, Richie,” Bev said.”

He sighed. “Figures. Let’s go, with Stan’s car it’ll be more like fifteen hours.”

“Don’t see either of you buying a car,” Stan muttered.

Ben looked at Beverly, smiling slightly. The peace and quiet of their usual lives had been getting a little dull. Ben easily picked up their suitcase and stared out the door.

“Seriously, what did we interrupt?” Richie teased as she followed, locking up. He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Don’t worry, Richie, I’ll have _plenty_ of time to get eaten out after our trip,” she said.

_“Nice,” _he said, holding his hand up for a high-five.

She rolled her eyes, snorting at him, but she returned the high-five as they started down the stairs.

**

Bill leaned against the car, spinning his pen around in his hand. “Okay,” he said. “What if… it was a dream all along?”

Mike gave him a look. “Come on, man.”

“Worse?”

“So much worse,” Mike said. “That’s, like, the worst possible ending you could have come up with.”

“Well,” Bill said. “But…”

Mike snatched the pen out of his hand. “It’s summer, we’re road tripping. Stop writing.”

“But I really want to finish…” 

“No, Bill,” Mike said. “You need a break. And you’re not going to be able to focus with the others around anyway. Just let it sit for a while.”

Bill sighed at him.

“You can’t write endings because you’re always too fixated on finishing everything,” Mike said. “You can leave it for a bit.”

Bill sighed. “Alright, alright.”

“Give me the notebook,” Mike insisted.

Bill handed it over, letting Mike take it and put it in his back pocket.

They sat in amicable silence until they saw - and heard - Stan’s car, spluttering as Ben parked it.

Bill smiled, standing up as Stan kicked open the door with a loud creak.

“Okay, well, that needs to be oiled,” Mike said immediately, pulling Stan into a hug as he did.

“Needs an exorcism, is what it needs,” Eddie muttered, clambering out the other side.

“When’s the last time you had an oil change for this thing?” Ben asked.

“Um,” Stan said.

“Ben,” Richie called from the passenger seat. “You have to understand: none of us knows anything about anything.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “You don’t know anything about anything,” he said.

“Oh, yeah?” Richie countered. “Name one ingredient of latkes.”

Stan stared at him. _“Potatoes,”_ he said. “Obviously.”

“Damn, he’s beating me at my one advantage,” Richie whispered, climbing out the window of the car.

Ben started to say something, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

Eddie squinted at him. “You’re so stupid.”

“And yet you love me,” Richie retorted. “So who’s _really_ the stupid one?”

“Still you,” Stan said. “Though frankly, Eddie’s on thin ice.”

“Thanks, Stan.”

“You’re the one dating him.”

“You live with us.”

“Someone has to.”

Bill snorted and pushed closer to hug Stan and Eddie, then held his arms out for Bev as she skidded over the trunk of the car to hug him.

“You guys all look really good,” Bill said softly.

“Wow, who is this well-spoken stranger?” Richie said. “Don’t recognize you without the stutter.”

Bill rolled his eyes and hugged him too while Eddie punched him in the shoulder hard enough to send him stumbling a half step over. “Glad to see you kept them alive another year, Stan,” Bill said.

“I did my best,” Stan said. “Eddie’s been trying very hard to kill Richie, but…”

“Pretty sure he’s succeeded a few times,” Richie offered cheerfully.

“Oh, you definitely stop breathing, like, every other time we have sex,” Eddie said, crossing his arms as Ben popped the hood to the car and leaned over it with Mike.

“So like… two times?” Stan asked.

“Okay, it’s been more than that,” Eddie replied. “Like five.”

“In my defense,” Richie huffed, then ran aground. “... I’m gay.”

Bill frowned at him. “No offense, Richie, but how is that a defense?”

“Well, a defense is not an offense and you… you… I don’t know, don’t look at me!” Richie shouted, turning away to look at Ben and Mike while they waved away smoke from the engine. “How’s it look?”

“Uh,” Ben said. “Not great?”

“You mean it’s not supposed to be smoking?” Richie asked, then looked at Stan. “Stan, it’s not supposed to be smoking.”

“Again, you can buy your own damn car,” Stan replied.

“No, I’m busy paying rent.”

“I know, because I balance your checkbook.”

“I have a checkbook?”

“No, you come home with wads of cash in your pockets, which _I _give to Stan when _I’m_ doing laundry,” Eddie said.

“Hell yeah I do,” Richie said, pointing at his face. “This is the money maker.”

Bill met Beverly’s eyes as she glanced at them with a silent, _Look at our mildly function adult friends._ He snorted to himself.

Mike sighed and reached to look at something inside the engine. “Yeah, that’s going to need to be replaced,” he said.

“Do you have tools?” Ben asked.

“Yeah,” Stan said, reaching over to pop the trunk and show Ben.

Ben squinted at the array of tools. “What are these?”

“Lock picks,” Eddie said.

Ben stared at him. “Why do you have more lock picking tools than regular tools for your car?”

“We lock ourselves out of our apartment a _lot,”_ Richie said. “Like a _lot _a lot. We had a locksmith once tell us we were the most useless people he’d ever seen.” He raised his hand to high-five Stan who merely gave him a look until he put his hand down.

“You don’t even have a car jack,” Ben said.

“We did,” Eddie offered. “But then we… uh…” 

“Then, we agreed to not. Talk. About. That,” Stan hissed at him.

“Yeah,” Eddie said. “Right.”

“Wait, why?” Bill said.

“No reason,” Richie said quickly. “What’s a car jack? I mean, how do you even get a car off?”

“You can’t get the car off,” Bev said. “You have to get the wheel off.”

“Fuck,” Richie said. “That was good, why didn’t I think of that?”

Bev grinned at him, leaning against the car to light a cigarette while Stan shook his head, mostly to himself.

“Okay, well, we’re going to need at least a wrench,” Ben said.

“How much cash do we have?” Mike asked.

They emptied their pockets and wallets into a pile.

Mike sighed. “Alright, I think we can make it work. Bill, you want to find a mechanic with me?”

Bill nodded, getting his keys. “Yeah, let’s go. You guys want us to get food on the way.”

“Yeah,” Richie replied. “Let’s get some pizzas. Cheese for Stanley, classic pepperoni for me and Eddie.”

“I want all the toppings,” Bev said. 

“I’ll get in on that cheese pizza,” Ben called, still working on the engine.

“Alright,” Bill said. “We’ll be back.”

**

“You guys get the feeling there’s something going on between Mike and Bill?” Bev asked.

“Like, you think they’re fighting?” Richie asked, cocking his head at her.

“No. No, I definitely don’t,” she said, smiling knowingly and stretching her legs out where she sat on the curb.

Richie squinted at her, then gave her a scandalized look. “What? No. That’s… This is _my_ thing, we can’t _all_ be gay.”

“I don’t know,” Stan said, “I’m thinking about it.”

“What?” Richie blurted, turning around to look at him and then follow his eyes, making an odd strangled noise when he saw what had captivated Stan.

Eddie would be jealous, but he’d been staring for the past three minutes as Ben lifted his shirt off to wipe sweat and grease off his face, exposing several inches of abs. “Unbelievable,” Eddie whispered. “How did this happen?”

Bev grinned at them wolfishly. “Right?”

“Oh, God, he’s taking off his shirt,” Stan whispered. “Oh, no, Ben, don’t do that.”

Ben did do that, tugging off his shirt so he could properly wipe his face.

“Richie, look away, you’re not strong enough for this,” Stan said, trying to shove a hand in Richie’s face without looking away.

“I don’t know how,” Richie breathed. “Je-_zus._ What are those biceps?”

“They’re something,” Eddie said.

“Is this how you guys felt when Bev was tanning at the quarry?” Richie asked.

“Yeah, but like… more,” Eddie said.

“You know what the best part is?” Bev asked.

“The…” Richie awkwardly pantomimed the V right above the waist of Ben’s jeans.

“Stan’s right, you’re going to get a heart attack,” Eddie said, as Stan slowly reached a hand up to cover Richie’s eyes. Richie slapped his hand away.

Bev grinned even wider. “Ben, I think you dropped something over there!” she called, pointing.

Ben turned around to look, and Eddie, Richie and Stan all made strangled noises at the red claw marks all down his back. “I don’t see anything,” Ben said.

“My bad,” she replied, looking very smug.

He shrugged and went back to work.

“God, Bev,” Richie said. “Can’t believe you started dating a shy little fat kid and now you’re getting regularly railed by six feet of grade-A premium beef. Where the hell did you wrack up that kind of karma?”

“I put up with you, don’t I?”

Eddie frowned, putting up a hand. This was going too far. “Okay, whoa whoa,” he said. “I’m right here, asshole.”

“Don’t be jealous, Eddie,” Richie said. “If you had a two foot growth spurt and got jacked, I _would_ die.”

“It’s true,” Stan said. “He would.”

“You’re a safe kind of hot,” Bev offered. “Decent body…”

“Really good face…” Richie muttered, though he was staring at Ben’s chest as he said it. Then again, so was Eddie. “Jesus Christ, though.”

“I _know,”_ Bev said. “Though just to be clear, I would love Ben just as much if he was still all chubby and soft and had those adorable little cheeks, they were so _cute…”_

“Okay, keep it in your pants, Ringwald,” Richie said.

“You’re the one ogling my boyfriend,” she retorted.

“Uh, yeah, what else am I supposed to do? Not stare at his fucking eight-pack?”

“Point taken.” She looked at Ben, raising a brow in appreciation. “I swear to God he can lift me like I weigh less than a handful of grapes, it’s _insane.”_

“Why would you tell me that? I’m too gay for this, Beverly!”

“It’s true, I once pinned his wrists to the headboard for half a second and he moaned loud enough to wake Stan,” Eddie said.

Bev burst into laughter.

“Living with them is a fucking nightmare,” Stan muttered.

Mike and Bill’s car pulled up in the parking lot, and they all managed to look away awkwardly, clearing their throats like that would make it seem like they hadn’t been looking.

“Okay,” Mike said. “Let’s try this again.” He joined Ben while Bill strolled over to join the rest of them.

“What’d I miss?” Bill asked.

“They’re all drooling over my boyfriend,” Bev said.

Bill turned to look, then looked back at her with a nod. “I understand.”

“Okay, back off,” Richie said. “I was gay first.”

Bev patted his arm. “We know, Richie.”

**

“So if we drive about five or six hours each day, we’ll make it there in about a week,” Ben said, spreading out their map. “And then we’ll still have time to sightsee in LA.”

“Guess who brought the booze!” Bev said, lifting a case of beer over her head while holding Richie’s hand with the other.

“Already?” Bill asked.

“Yeah, man,” Richie said. “That’s how road trips work, jeez.”

“You’re going to develop a drinking problem before you turn 21,” Bill chided.

“Hell no,” Richie said, throwing himself on the bed. “I work in a bar, the last thing I want to do is get plastered all the time. I once saw a woman try to blow a light switch.” He grinned at Eddie. “Then again, sometimes I wonder if I could tell the difference…”

“Richie once called my dick divine,” Eddie said with a blank face.

“It’s good dick,” Richie said, trying very hard not to let his voice crack but nevertheless dropping his face into the mattress as he raised his hand.

“We have at most two beers for everyone,” Bev added, indulgently high-fiving him as she handed Bill a beer. “And we can keep the leftovers for tomorrow.”

“Alright, alright,” Bill sighed.

“You know any good drinking games?” Richie asked as Eddie stepped over Stan to sit next to Richie.

“Truth or dare,” Bev said, then shrieked when Richie hurled a pillow at her at full speed. She knocked it away, then stared at him, trying not to giggle. “Fair enough, Trashmouth.”

“I actually don’t mind playing truth or dare,” Richie said. “How about this, Ben, do you know your girlfriend is showing off your battle scars to assert her territory?”

Ben blushed.

“Do you genuinely not know how truth or dare works?” Stan asked. “Because that explains a lot.”

“Oh, because _you_ were invited to so many parties as a kid, _Stanley,”_ Richie retorted.

Eddie sighed. “Let me know if you want him to shut up,” he said. “I can do that now.”

“You can _not,”_ Richie said. “Just because _sometimes_ I can be quiet doesn’t mean--”

Eddie pushed his hand into Richie’s hair and used it to yank his head into his lap. Richie let out a startled _ha_ and went blissfully silent, blinking owlishly. Eddie took a satisfied sip of his beer.

“That doesn’t prove--”

Eddie continued massaging his fingers through Richie’s hair. Stan grinned, watching in amusement as Richie tried his best to keep talking.

“--prove that--”

Bev snorted, sitting on the other bed. “It’s like a superpower.”

“I know, it’s great,” Eddie said, still toying with Richie’s hair.

Richie looked up at him, trying to keep it together. “Dickhead.”

“Mhmm,” Eddie said, kissing his forehead.

Mike grinned, patting Richie’s knee. “Hey. It’s nice to see you’re more relaxed about this stuff.” 

“Don’t know what you mean,” Richie slurred. “I’ve always been a regular Casanova, unlike you virg--” Eddie tugged his hair and he trailed off with a soft noise again before whining, “Let me _live,_ Eds!”

“But this is more fun,” Eddie said.

“Are we playing truth or dare or not?” Bev asked.

“Sure,” Bill said.

“Okay, Bill, truth or dare?” she asked, grinning wildly.

He sighed, like he already knew where this was going. “Truth, I guess.”

“What’s up with you and Mike?”

Bill groaned. “I told you she’d pick up on it,” he muttered.

Mike shrugged. “My bad.”

“Wait, seriously?” Eddie blurted. “She called it?”

Bill nodded. “We kissed a few times, then decided to stay friends. It’s not a big deal.”

“I _knew_ it!” Bev shouted, pumping her fist.

Ben shook his head and moved to lay down on the bed next to her.

“No, no,” Stan said. “Wait. How many times is a few times?”

“A… j-just a few,” Bill said. “You guys are all in New York, we spend a lot of time together, we thought we’d try it. And then we decided we preferred to be friends. It was all _very_ calm.”

“And we are still very good friends,” Mike said. “We had an awkward few days, and then we talked it out. Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” Richie said. “Let _me_ go through the crisis and now we’re all jumping in on the action, huh?”

Eddie rolled his eyes and leaned over him to kiss his nose. “Thanks for paving the way for us all, you trailblazer, you.”

“Thank you,” Richie said. “I never get enough appreciation for my trendsetting.”

“You’ve never set a trend in your life,” Stan said.

“Ssh,” Eddie said. “He’s going through something.”

“Yeah, jeez, Stan, you’re so ins--” He cut off with a wheeze as Eddie tugged his hair again. “Are you serious right now?”

Eddie giggled at him. “It was funny.”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck _you.”_

“Alright, Stan, truth or dare?” Bill asked, before they could continue bickering, likely until judgment day.

“Truth,” Stan said automatically.

“Boooo,” Richie crowed. “You’re all boring.”

Stan rolled his eyes.

“Okay, um…” Bill said. “How’s the birdwatching in New York?”

“Okay I was kidding before, but that really was weak,” Richie said.

“I hate to say it, but Richie’s right,” Stan said, taking a long sip. “But it’s good. Better in Derry since we had the woods nearby, but I see some nests in cool places.” He eyed Richie. “Alright, Richie, you ready?”

Richie sighed. “Yeah, yeah, hit me. Go hard, Stan.”

“Truth or dare?” Stan asked, resting his chin on the bed so he could lock eyes with Richie.

“You have a very scary energy right now, Stanley,” Richie said. “But… truth.”

“Wooooo!” Bev said, clapping happily. “Proud of you.”

“Bite me.”

Stan hummed in thought, then finally asked, “What’s the worst thing you do when neither of us is home?”

“The _worst?” _Richie asked. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t do much while you guys aren’t home. I’m a hands-on menace.” He thought about it. “Sometimes I guess I’ll undo a few pieces of your puzzles just to see if you’ll notice.”

“What?” Stan asked, snorting. “That’s not even that bad!”

“I don’t know! I just steal Eddie’s sweaters, read comics and wait for you guys to get home!”

“Cute,” Eddie mumbled.

“So cute,” Bev said.

“Don’t patronize me,” Richie said. “Eddie, truth or dare?”

“I already hate this,” Eddie said. “Dare.”

“Now we’re talking!” Richie crowed. “Dare you to prank call your mom.”

“No,” Eddie said, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle.

“Okay, even I know that’s not how the game works,” Richie said. “C’mon!”

“No, I haven’t talked to my mom for over a year,” Eddie said. “I’m not going to change that for a prank call.

The room fell silent.

“Wait, what?” Bev said, finally.

Richie sat up, staring at Eddie. “Over a year? Why didn’t we know about this?”

Eddie smiled awkwardly, brows furrowing. “We live together. I thought you knew. She doesn’t even have our number. Or our address. She doesn’t even know we’re living with Stanley, because then she’d ask Stan’s mom, and then she’d have our number and I do not want her to have our number because then it would be so much harder not to…”

Richie quietly put a hand on his knee to remind him he was rambling, and he trailed off.

“Oh my God,” Stan blurted. “Seriously?”

“I thought you were just hiding it from us so we didn’t tease,” Richie said.

“No, I came out to her when we were moving out,” Eddie said. “And she blamed Richie, said some…” A quiet fury swept over his face for a moment, _“things _about him… and… I… didn’t… want to talk to her ever again. So I… don’t plan to.”

“But she’s…” Richie stammered. “You’ve always been such a… Eddie, I’ve still been making mom jokes, why didn’t you say anything?”

“You don’t need to stop,” Eddie said. “I mean, please do, they’re terrible, but… It’s really not that big a deal. It’s been better without her.”

“I didn’t want to come between you and your mom,” Richie mumbled. “Fuck, that’s such a good start to a joke…”

“You really should, though,” Stan said. “She’s not great.”

“Yeah, she’s been lying to me about diseases for most of my life,” Eddie said. “I looked up my medications in my textbooks and they’re _all_ bullshit. And asthma is… _not_ as dangerous as she said it was.” He shrugged. “I guess I just realized my mom did as much to make me scared as Pennywise did and… that’s fucked up. Actually, no offense but… it actually has very little to do with you. You were… The way _she_ talked about you was just the final straw.”

“Oh, Eddie,” Bev said, leaning forward to squeeze his other knee. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine with it, really,” Eddie insisted.

“I know, but…” Bev said, shrugging. “I get it.”

“I haven’t talked to my parents in ages either,” Bill said. “It’s just… not… good.”

“I don’t really talk to my dad,” Stan offered. “I call my mom for holidays, I guess.”

“Yeah, I think escaping Derry and never looking back is the best thing I could have done for myself,” Mike said. “Seriously.”

Richie fell forward into Eddie’s lap with a small thwump. “I can’t believe I was the last straw, though,” he mumbled.

Eddie stroked his hair gently. “How? You spent half your time gathering straws to pile on unsuspecting camels.”

“Please,” Richie said. “Everyone suspects me of everything. I’m not subtle.”

Eddie laughed. “You’re really not.”

Richie squirmed so he could stretch his legs out. “Okay, fine, I guess I’ve gotta teach you how to shotgun a beer now,” he said.

Eddie narrowed his eyes at him. “Why?”

“For a new dare,” Richie said. “Bev, gimme.”

She snorted and handed him a beer. Mike gave him a pocket knife.

“Thank you,” Richie said. “So you want to take the knife and make a hole here…” He handed Eddie the can and the knife and guided him. “Push with your thumb…” Eddie’s eyes were not on the can, but on Richie, but he was forced to pay attention when Richie shoved it at him with an unsympathetic, “And chug!”

Eddie screwed his eyes shut and did his best, only splurting a sizeable spray of beer into his face at the end.

They all cheered, and Richie clapped him on the back as he coughed, wiping beer off his mouth. “Urg, it’s sticky,” Eddie said. “I’m going to wash my face.”

He got up and went to the bathroom, running water for a few moments before stumbling back. “Okay.” He glared at Richie. “Ben. Truth or dare.”

Ben gave him a nervous look. “Um.” Bev gave him an eager look. “Dare?”

“Thank you,” Eddie said. “I dare you to throw Richie’s dumb ass over your very strong, broad shoulders.”

“Which is really the gayest way you could have said _that,”_ Stan said, making Mike laugh and Bill snort.

“You stared too, Stanley,” Eddie hissed. Stan shrugged.

“Wait, no,” Richie said. “That’s not fair!”

“It definitely is,” Eddie said.

Ben sighed, squatting down in front of the bed so he could grab Richie’s legs and arms and drag him onto his shoulders before standing up.

“Oh God,” Richie said. “Oh, God, your arms are so big?! What the fuck, why?! Do I weigh anything to you?!”

“Do some squats,” Bev suggested.

Ben gave Bev a baleful look to no avail.

“I’m going to have a stroke,” Richie said. “There’s no way you can—ohhhhh no, he can, oh _no?!”_

Ben dutifully did a few squats, eyes pleading with Bev for mercy, before Eddie sat up.

“Alright, give him back to me,” he said, holding out his arms.

Ben gripped Richie’s arms so he could carefully dump him back into Eddie’s arms, breathless.

“Does that count as cheating, because I feel like it might have,” Richie wheezed.

Eddie pulled him in, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

Richie went red and darted off the bed, walking straight out of the room.

Ben pointed after him, glancing at Eddie as though unsure whether to apologize.

Eddie waved sloppily. “Don’t worry, he’s just like that. He does this all the time.” He leaned in to whisper to all of them. “He’s so easy to dirty talk to. He’s wrecked by literally _anything,_ it’s _adorable_ and I love him so much.”

“Wow, you’re already drunk, huh?” Bev asked.

Eddie made a small noise, shrugging. “Little bit.”

Bill snorted. “Alright, well, I never drink, so I’ll join you,” he said, raising his beer at Eddie and chugging it.

There was a knock at the door. Stan sighed. “He forgot to take a key.”

“He does that,” Eddie said.

Mike got up to let him back in, and Richie awkwardly shuffled in, pointing at Bill as he finished chugging. “Nice.”

Bill smiled at him awkwardly, trying to swallow without throwing it back up.

“Okay, well…” Ben said, clearing his throat. “Uh, Bev. Truth or dare?”

Bev thought it over. “Dare,” she said, giving him a challenging look.

“I dare you to open a store,” Ben said without hesitation.

She gasped at him, laughing slightly. “You cheater!”

“It’s the rules of the game,” Ben said. “Now you have to.”

“Wait, what?” Bill asked. “What’s this about?”

“So there’s an internship Ben was looking at,” Bev said. “He’d graduate later, but he’d also have experience and a salary and we’d be closer to New York City, and he was thinking maybe we should get a place closer to the city and then co-sign a loan to open a postcard shop and photography business in the city to help cover,” she said. “We’d be closer to the guys, but when he goes back to school, he’d have to commute more.”

“Which wouldn’t be so bad,” Ben said. “I’d have less classes for my last year and a half because I’ve been knocking out my electives and basic courses really fast. And I think Bev could really start a pretty impressive business.”

“It’s a big risk,” Bev said.

“It’s really not,” Ben said. “You’re talented.”

“Yeah, your postcards are amazing,” Richie said.

She smiled, poised to deny it.

“They are, they’re all over my dorm room,” Bill said. “You should definitely open a store, it’d be a hit!”

“Plus it’d be great to see you more,” Stan said. “I need to see people who aren’t these two or I start to forget what it’s like to have any amount of common sense.”

“You know what, that’s fair,” Eddie said.

“You should do it,” Mike said.

“She has to, it’s a dare,” Richie said.

“Which is why it’s cheating!” Bev cried, jabbing an accusatory finger at Ben, who took her hand in his and softly kissed it, smiling.

“Nope, that’s exactly how the game is played,” Richie said. “I would know, I’m an expert.”

They disagreed with him loudly, and Bev shoved a pillow at him.

“Alright, fine, I’ll open a shop,” Bev said.

“Breaking news, Beverly is not a cheating coward!” Richie called in his announcer voice before grinning at her.

“Oh, you want to do this?” she asked him a dangerous glint in her eyes as she stared Richie down.

“Do your worst, Red!”

She didn’t look away, grinning threateningly as she asked, “Eddie, truth or dare?”

Eddie squinted at her, as though trying to do the mental math of what she was planning for Richie and how much he’d regret it. “Uh… truth?”

“What’s our favorite foulmouthed trashmouth _really_ like in bed?” Bev asked.

Eddie grinned, grabbing Richie by the hair before he could escape to drag him into his arms. Richie squirmed against him, then went limp. “So cute,” Eddie said, pulling Richie close and kissing his cheeks sloppily. “A long, shy babe.”

Bev winked at the rest of them like this was exactly what she’d planned.

“Nuh-uh!” Richie said, flailing as Eddie’s grip pushed his arms into his face and pushed up his glasses onto his head. “I’m a smooth operator. A sex machine.”

“If the machine is a jammed printer you gotta be reeeeeal gentle with, sure,” Eddie said.

“My sexual prowess is--” He squealed as Eddie blew a raspberry into his neck, legs flailing.

“Smooth,” Bill repeated.

“Someone take over for me,” Eddie said. “I have to punish these lies with kisses.”

“Nooooo!” Richie whined.

“Yes,” Eddie said, knocking his glasses off to get to his face and plant kisses all over it. Richie kicked a few times and then went limp, accepting his fate.

Bev snorted. “Okay, okay. Bill, truth or dare?”

Bill sighed at her, then muttered, “Truth.”

“Coward,” she replied. “When is the book coming out, huh? Talk about things that are gonna be a hit.”

“It’s… coming along,” Bill said. “I really can’t write endings.”

“He really, really can’t,” Mike added.

“It’s okay, we all struggle to finish sometimes,” Richie called, shrieking as Eddie rolled them both off the bed and out of sight and - judging by the noises Richie made - did something mildly unspeakable.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> annnnnnd i'm back for another chapter
> 
> how many chapters will this be? idk, i just want to write a lot of losers dialogue and pretend they never forgot each other. i write out of desperation and that's it

“So we might be able to make it to Pittsburgh by lunch today,” Bill said. “And then Mike says their zoo is pretty good, so we figured we’d stop there and look around.”

Richie yawned. “Cool. I can’t drive.”

Stan sighed. “I’ll drive. Who else is in the car with me?”

“I will, I want to see how the car sounds,” Ben said.

_ “I’m _ staying with Bill and Mike,” Eddie said. “I want the whole backseat to myself, because  _ someone _ kept elbowing me in the face last night.” 

Bev grinned. “You started it.”

Last night, Ben and Bill had drawn the short straw and slept on the floor, leaving Bev to pretend to be obnoxious and squirm in between Richie and Eddie. Richie had acted put upon, but he knew that Bev was well aware he’d been all too happy to accept a buffer between him and Eddie.

Sure, they slept together on a regular basis now, and Eddie had pretty much attacked him with kisses in front of the others and it was  _ fine, _ but somehow falling asleep in Eddie’s arms in front of people - people who weren’t Stan, who had seen everything and was probably kind of dead inside at this point - felt like he was doing something wrong. Rubbing it in their faces or getting  _ too _ used to it, or  _ something. _

Eddie huffed at her. He would have had no qualms about holding Richie like a teddy bear all night if Bev had let him, and Richie probably would have cried and it would have been a mess. “Fuck you, Beverly.”

Bev grinned, drumming on Richie’s shoulders. “Come on, baby, let’s nap in Stan’s car before it blows up.”

“Don’t call my boyfriend baby!” Eddie said.

“Why? You’re not doing it,” Bev said. “And look at him. Baby through and through.”

“What’s that?” Richie asked, bending down theatrically. “I can’t hear you down there, little orphan Annie.”

“Watch it, beanpole, I’m eye-level with all your internal organs,” Bev said.

Richie blew a raspberry at her.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You two definitely deserve each other,” he said, opening the car door. He locked eyes with Richie. “Have fun, baby.”

Richie’s heart skipped a beat, and he tried to get into Stan’s car before Eddie saw him blush. He had, however, forgotten to open the door, which meant he ended up slamming his nose right into the window while Bev fell over laughing.

**

“The car is so quiet,” Stan said.

Ben gave him an awkward look. “This is… sort of how cars are supposed to sound.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “Look, it’s not like I drive it often.”

“It  _ was  _ going to catch fire soon,” Ben said.

Stan shrugged. “You really become numb to a lot of things when you spend your days with Eddie and Richie.”

Ben snorted. “You like it.”

Stan sighed. “I do.They’re fun. I’d just sit around and study alone if I wasn’t living with them and it would suck. “ He glanced back in the mirror. “They’re kind of cute when they’re asleep.” Bev and Richie had fallen asleep on each other’s shoulders after a good hour of bickering about Star Wars.

Ben glanced back at Bev with a small smile. “Yeah.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “You’re biased, you always think she’s cute.”

“Yeah,” Ben admitted. He double checked to see if she was sleeping. “I bought a ring.”

Stan choked. “What?” he whispered. “Seriously?”

Ben nodded, nervous. “It just seemed like the sort of ring she’d love, so I… got it?”

“Well,” Stan said, blinking at the road. “When are you going to…?”

“Oh, God, not yet,” Ben said. “Not for a  _ while.” _

Stan glanced at him as best he could without crashing the car. “You’ve been together for two years, it’s not exactly crazy.”

“I know, I know, but…” Ben said, sighing, “I just think Bev still needs a bit more time to settle. She’s… I mean, she’s not really  _ scared _ by anything, but I don’t think she entirely trusts good things. And I don’t want to put anything on her shoulders just yet.”

Stan groaned. “Come on, man, I already have to put up with Richie and Eddie doing their constant dance around each other and their problems, you can’t drag your feet too long.”

“I’m not,” Ben protested. “But I… uh… I read up on it. And apparently it’s kind of common with abuse victims, and you know her dad… Well, I’m just letting her find her footing before springing anything on her. Let her start the shop and everything. She’s alone at home most of the time while I’m studying and I just feel like she needs her own life before she’s ready to commit to sharing it.”

“I guess,” Stan said. “But if you don’t do anything in the next year, I’m telling Richie, and he’ll be  _ super _ annoying about it.” He glanced back at the way Richie had slumped against Bev. “I really don’t understand their friendship, but it’s nice.”

Ben snorted. “That’s fair. Besides, I can deal with Richie.”

“He’s a disaster,” Stan said. “It’s actually dangerously endearing to watch him and Eddie do their… thing. They’re like birds, but… so much dumber?”

Ben laughed.

Bev yawned, sitting up blearily. “I need to pee.”

Stan glared at her in the mirror. “We literally  _ just _ passed an exit.”

“Should have woken me up,” Bev replied.

“I need to pee too,” Richie added.

“God. You’re like children,” Stan muttered, checking the signs. “You’ll have to wait another fifteen minutes.”

“Fine.”

**

“Remember when we had that field trip to Portland and Eddie nearly got eaten by an ostrich?” Richie asked, leaning over the fence to the emu enclosure.

“This is not an ostrich,” Stan muttered to deaf ears.

“That ostrich was aiming for  _ you,  _ asshole,” Eddie said.

“Was it? I thought it was just aiming for the weakest of the pack.”

“No, you kept whistling at it,” Stan said. “And throwing pebbles.”

“Oh yeah. It was kind of cool. Slammed against the fence like a torpedo,” Richie said.

“That was terrifying,” Bill said.

“Well, birds were once dinosaurs,” Ben said.

Stan made a face. “I don’t think any bird should be bigger than a turkey.”

“So the turkey’s the limit, huh?” Richie said. “What about a bird that should be small, but isn’t? Like, how would you feel about hummingbird the size of a turkey?”

“It would die,” Mike said. “I don’t think hummingbirds really scale up.”

“Yeah, but like… theoretically.”

Stan stared at him.

“Answer the question, Stanley,” Bev said, resting her chin on Richie’s arm. She’d wrapped around his elbow, lacing their fingers together.

“No,” Stan said. “Also, what’s going on with this?” He pointed at them.

“Richie deserves some PDA,” Bev said. “Isn’t that right, Richie?”

“Yeah, we’re gonna make out in front of the lions,” Richie said. “Show them who’s boss.” He twisted around to look at her, leaning in slightly.

She held his gaze sharply, making it all too obvious they had silently gotten stuck in a game of chicken.

Eddie and Ben watched in utter bewilderment as they got close enough for their noses to touch before Bev broke away to lick a stripe up Richie’s cheek. “Ew!” he said, squirming until he could wipe it on her shoulder.

“I win,” Bev said.

“How? You broke first!”

“You said ew!”

“That’s not the point!”

“Thank God the lions know who’s boss,” Eddie muttered. He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “You realize the lions are back there, right?”

“You jealous?” Richie asked.

“Of the fact that you’re covered in spit?” Eddie asked. “No.”

“Not even a little?” 

Eddie squinted at him. _ “No.” _

Richie sighed heavily at Bev. “Sometimes I worry he doesn’t even want me.”

“Just because I’m not upset that you’re holding hands with our mutual friend who you’re not attracted to doesn’t mean I don’t want you, dumbass, it means I have a brain!” Eddie snapped, whacking Richie in the head.

Stan sighed. “And  _ that’s _ what Richie was hoping for,” he muttered quietly to Bill, who snorted.

Bev hid her smile from Eddie and waggled her eyebrows at Ben, who shook his head fondly.

“Oh, there’s also an aquarium,” Mike said. “It’s really cool, we should check it out.”

“Aviary first,” Stan said.

“Bird nerd,” Richie replied.

“Wait,” Eddie said. “No one’s around.”

He shoved at Mike, who quickly picked up on his intention and stood so he was blocking Richie from the rest of the world while Eddie very quickly dragged him down into a kiss.

“There,” Eddie said, clearing his throat and continuing on towards the aviary. “I can provide PDA too,  _ Beverly.” _

“Wow, he  _ is _ jealous,” Stan said as Richie blushed aggressively into Bev’s hair while she patted his back in understanding.

“Oh, they have a peacock!” Eddie yelled.

Stan’s head snapped up excitedly. “Really?”

**

“Alright, tomorrow I’m calling shotgun in one of the cars,” Richie said. “My knees are killing me.”

“There’s a pool here,” Mike pointed out. “Might be good to… uh… relax in it?”

“This just in: local clown demon ruins the word ‘float’ for all eternity,” Richie said, holding an invisible microphone as Stan glowered into the distance while unlocking their room.

“Jesus Christ, Richie, you’re such a fuckhead,” Eddie said, dragging their suitcase inside.

“Hey, you broke up with your mom for me,” Richie joked with a wide grin, fiddling with the small stand showing the number for room service.

Stan looked at the ceiling, like he already knew how this was going to pan out.

“Oh, haha, I had a creepy relationship with my mother,  _ hilarious,” _ Eddie said. “Don’t call it a breakup, asshole.”

“I’m just saying.” Richie’s smile faded slowly, and he watched Eddie quietly as Eddie started to unpack.

Stan winced, as though waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Bill quietly closed the door to the room, just in case they needed privacy from the outside world. He busied himself with unrolling their sleeping bags.

Richie flicked the room service card under the TV. “So, what’d she say about me?”

“Just… garbage,” Eddie said, not looking up. “It’s not important.”

“No, I want to know.”

Eddie’s scowl deepened. “You don’t.”

“C’mon, don’t be a pussy. Tell me,” Richie said, crossing his arms.

Bev quietly smacked her forehead in frustration, and joined Bill in unrolling the sleeping bag. It was very obvious it was a one person job, but at least they weren’t staring.

“No, jackass!” Eddie snapped. “There’s no point in it, because it was all one big steaming heap of bullshit, just like everything else she ever said!” 

He looked at Richie, who was giving him nervous glances while trying to pretend he wasn’t, carefully easing the car out from under the TV so he could flick it again, then threw up his hands and started fiddling with their bag to avoid his look.

Eddie let out a strangled noise of frustration. “It’s not  _ important, _ okay? She said everything I know you’re terrified of people saying, and it was just such a load of crap that I couldn’t take it because I already knew how stupid it was and how much it would have hurt you to hear, and since then I just keep learning more and more about how much this shit tears you up inside, and so every time I think about her I get angrier and so I just don’t. I don’t think about her anymore, so just--”

“Cool,” Richie said, a nervous wheeze caught in his throat. “I can’t breathe.”

Bill looked up from where he’d been staring at the sleeping bag. Richie was leaning against the TV stand, pale and clutching his chest.

“Shit,” Eddie said.

“Oh, honey,” Bev said, reaching for him.

Bill quickly moved over to help Richie sit. “J-Just take a deep breath,” he tried, biting back frustration at the stutter.

Richie shook his head while Eddie searched for something in his backpack, panicked gasps rattling in his chest.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” Mike said, moving in to put a hand on Richie’s knee. “Rich, look at me. You’re fine. It’s just panic.”

Richie looked at him, but it didn’t help much. Mike squeezed his shoulder in sympathy, trying to silently help Richie through it.

Eddie elbowed Bill aside, stretching out his inhaler.

“Will that help?” Richie managed, breathless.

“Yeah, I promise,” Eddie said, taking the back of Richie’s head into his free hand and putting the inhaler to Richie’s mouth. “C’mon, deep breath.”

The inhaler clicked, and Richie took a deep breath. Bill rubbed his back as he gulped in air, breathing not settling but at least continuing. Eddie pulled Richie’s arm close, resting his forehead on his shoulder as Richie breathed in and out, sniffling as tears started dripping down his face.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Richie croaked.

“It didn’t, it’s empty,” Eddie said. “I just needed to get you breathing.”

_ “Asshole,” _ Richie managed, then shoved his fingers sloppily into the corners of his eyes to try to stem the tears.

“Do you need us to back off a little?” Stan asked, squatting next to Richie’s leg. “We’ve been teasing you a lot.”

“No!” Richie said with surprising vigor. “I don’t want anyone to back off! I want to kiss my boyfriend and cuddle and let him show off that he thinks I’m cute and make dumb sex jokes and make inappropriate digs at Bev, because,” he turned to look at her with a faux sincere look, “I just think that the fact that we’re both regularly getting some really good dick from a hot piece of ass just makes me feel closer to you.”

Bev gripped his shoulder. “I know. Being absolutely  _ railed _ all the time is such a special experience that I’m honored to share with my best friend.”

“Yeah,” Richie said tearily.

“Okay, I think we’re losing our train of thought here,” Stan said, grimacing at their antics. “Can we get back to the panic attack you just had and what you need us to do about it?”

“Nothing!” Richie gritted out. He looked at Eddie. “I just… your mom used to be really important to you. And I just feel like I’m ruining things that you cared about.”

“Richie,” Eddie said, lifting his head to set his chin on Richie’s shoulder. He took a deep breath, like he was thinking of what was best to say here. “Look, I know that all this is going to make your deeply carnal relationship with my mother complicated, but we’ll get around it. It was time.”

Richie laughed despite himself. “I love you so much,” he sobbed.

“I love you too,” Eddie said, rubbing his arm. “And thanks for comparing my dick to Ben’s, it’s a real ego boost.”

Ben went beet red, but let it happen, patting Richie’s knee comfortingly.

“It’s good dick,” Richie said, wiping his eyes. He looked at Bev. “Really good dick.”

She nodded seriously. “I know, sweetie.”

“God, you’re such a loser,” Eddie whispered, laughing to himself.

Richie grinned at him, tears drying.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Eddie said. “I’m laughing at you, not with you.”

“Eddie,” Richie said softly. “You know that I don’t care.”

Stan sighed, sitting down so that he could wrap his arms around Eddie and Richie. “Neither of you has a single thing going on in those empty heads of yours.”

Mike grinned and wrapped one arm around Bev and Richie, holding the other out for Ben. Ben obliged, and Stan followed suit to get Bill into the hug while Bill sat on Richie’s legs to fit.

“I think Eddie outgrew Bill,” Stan remarked.

Richie started laughing.

“Ha,” Eddie said. “Good.”

“You’ll always be the shortest in my heart,” Richie said.

“Richie cries during sex,” Eddie said.

“That’s the least surprising thing you’ve ever told us about him,” Bill replied.

“I hate every single one of you,” Richie said.

“You told us not to back off,” Mike reminded him.

“Yeah, don’t,” Richie said. “But know that I hate you.”

“We don’t know that, because it’s a blatant lie,” Bev said.

“Fuck you, Ringwald.”

“Fuck you too, Trashmouth.”

“None of us brought any swimming suits,” Richie said.

“Hotel pools are so gross,” Eddie said. “Seriously,  _ so _ gross, they’re fucking cesspools.”

“Maybe literally,” Richie said, and Eddie gagged.

“No one’s going to notice if we just go in our underwear,” Stan said.

“Oh, God, Jesus, I hate all of you too,” Eddie said.

“Lot of hate in this room for a bunch of jackasses all hugging each other,” Bev said.

“Shut up, Bev.”

**

“So, let me get this straight,” Stan said slowly. “His last name is Rothschild, and you killed him?”

Bill narrowed his eyes, like he wasn’t sure where this was going but knew it was a trap. “Yes?”

“You killed your only Jewish character?” Stan said.

“I didn’t realize Rothschild was a Jewish name!” Bill protested.

“You didn’t know your only Jewish character was Jewish and you still killed your only Jewish character?” Stan said, crossing his arms. “This book sounds terrible.”

Bill sighed. “I’ll kill a different character.”

“Why do you even have to kill anyone?” Ben asked.

“I write horror,” Bill replied. “You have to raise the stakes somehow.”

“None of us died and we had a scary enough time of it,” Ben offered.

“Yeah, but that was real,” Bill said. “In fiction, no one would take it seriously.”

Ben shook his head. “I think it’s more about emotion. And you’re good at that.”

Bill sighed. “Maybe for the next book. This one is… It’s to get my foot in the door. And also there’s zombies and it wouldn’t work if no one died.”

“Kill the comedic relief,” Bev said. “Then, you have everyone else struggling to maintain a sense of humor in the wake of tragedy.”

“That’s very dark, sweetheart,” Ben said.

“Yeah, also: What the fuck?” Richie called. “That’s  _ me. _ You would kill me?”

“To be fair you would definitely be the first of us to die,” Mike said.

“You’re crazy, man, I have a killer survival instinct,” Richie said, and shoved Eddie into the pool, grinning over him.

_ “You’re so dead, Richie!”  _ Eddie yelled, fighting himself to the surface. “Uh, gross, it’s in my mouth!”

“Bummer, dude!” Richie said, and leapt into the pool in an impressive cannonball that splashed all of them, but mostly Eddie.

Eddie gagged, then let out a furious noise and shoved Richie under the water. “Asshole!”

Stan snorted, rounding the pool so he could keep a safe distance from their antics when he slipped into the water. “Kill the bully. Zombie bully. Problem solved.”

Bill hummed in acknowledgement. “I still think I need to kill a main character at the end. Have a bittersweet triumph, you know?”

“Kill the comic relief,” Eddie said, holding Richie’s head in a headlock under the water. “They’re not good for anything.” He let Richie up, spluttering and coughing.

“Now I got pool water up my nose,” Richie said, snorting. “Eddie wants me to get pool nose-itis and  _ die.” _

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Okay,  _ fine, _ pool water isn’t dangerous,” he snapped. “It’s chlorinated. Is that what you wanted me to admit? It’s just  _ gross. _ People pee in pools!”

“People pee everywhere,” Richie said. “And more!”

“Do not say a single word more,” Eddie warned.

“I’m just saying, working at a bar? First time I heard of a staph infection from anyone other than Eddie,” Richie said.

“I’m never kissing you after you come home again,” Eddie muttered.

“It’s not like I lick the bar,” Richie said. “Much.”

“Can you make all the weird drinks?” Mike asked.

Richie laughed. “What’s a weird drink, Mike?”

“I don’t know, Bill and I don’t drink,” Mike said.

“What do you do?” Stan asked. “Does it get lonely in LA, just the two of you?”

“The two of us hang out a lot,” Mike said. “Sometimes we just go bowling and I bowl while Bill writes and we share fries.”

“Well, now I understand why you kissed,” Richie said. “That’s romance there.”

Bill rolled his eyes. “I write better with a little company.”

“I’ve been writing some too,” Mike said. “Historical fiction. ‘Bought the people that history forgets. We’ve been writing together in the library a bunch.”

“So you guys are in the City of Stars,” Richie said, holding his hands up to get them to listen to him, “and you spend all your time writing boring shit together instead of trying to stalk celebrities or some shit?”

“Yeah,” Mike said. “It’s nice. There’s some good places to write in LA, and it’s always warm. I like it.”

“Fuckin’ nerds,” Richie said.

“Oh, because you’ve seen so much of New York,” Bev teased. “You’ve never even been to Central Park!”

“Because it’s just trees! We saw all the cool buildings!” Richie protested. “And we saw a guy from Saturday Night Live!”

“We didn’t,” Stan said. “It was just some guy.”

“It was that dude in the sketch with the thing,” Richie said. “Besides, when we stay home and watch TV, I get to cuddle with Eddie. Much nicer.” He grinned at Eddie. 

“I’m not kissing you while you’re covered in pool water,” Eddie replied, glowering at him. “It’s just  _ gross.” _

“I’ll shower thoroughly,” Richie promised.

Eddie’s eyes gleamed. “I don’t trust you with this shit,” he said. “I’m scrubbing you clean myself.”

Richie stared at him, then whispered, “I have regrets.”

Eddie continued to glower at him, and Richie looked at them for a few awkward moments before saying, “I know how to do a blowjob,” he said.

Eddie choked into the water.

“Amaretto, Irish cream liquor and whipped cream,” Richie said. “And you have to use your mouth to drink it.”

_ “Fucker,” _ Eddie hissed at him.

Richie grinned at him wildly, and was subsequently dragged underwater.

**

“So, what should we expect when we get inside?” Bill asked.

“God knows,” Stan sighed.

Richie and Eddie had gone inside to shower before the rest of them, and Mike figured it was anyone guess what that was a lead up to.

“You look good, though,” Bill said. “I think it’s good that you’re with them instead of on your own.”

Stan narrowed his eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How many times have they gotten you out of your room when you were stressed about college?” Bill asked.

“Thousands, probably,” Stan said. “And not just to drive them to the emergency room, though that’s been… part of it. They also… well. They also make me settle arguments a lot, about… weird stuff, where they’re both wrong. And they drag me out to watch TV and movies and look at the sea and they… I don’t know if they know what seagulls are and at this point it’s too entertaining to tell them. And once when I was worried about the result of a test I thought I bombed, Richie got me really drunk and in the morning we were both sleeping on the couch and there was a goldfish in our sink. Eddie was… not happy.”

Bill snorted loudly.

“I miss you two, though,” Stan said. “You guys are so much calmer as people.”

“We miss you too,” Mike said. “Maybe after college we should… you know, look into being closer to each other.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Stan said. “That’d be nice.” He sighed. “I feel like if you two moved to New York, I’d just continue living with Richie and Eddie, and that’s… not something I wanted to know about myself.”

Mike laughed. “They’re fun! They keep you young.”

“I am young,” Stan said.

“You’ve always been old before your time,” Bill admitted.

“Oh, you’re funny,” Stan griped, rolling his eyes as they got to their room. “I’ll go first, I’ve seen everything.”

He pushed in the door, then let out a sigh of relief. “Wow, you guys are civilized sometimes,” he said, kicking the door open.

Richie had sprawled out on Eddie’s lap and they were talking quietly. “Yeah, yeah,” Eddie shot back. “Sometimes I love my boyfriend, what a revelation, Stanley.”

“News to me,” Stan said.

Mike eyed them. He had to admit, it was quite the relief to find out that Richie and Eddie could sit and talk things out sometimes, Eddie’s hand combing through Richie’s hair softly.

“Hard not to fall for this dumb wet noodle,” Eddie murmured, poking Richie on the nose.

“You broke up with your mom for me,” Richie purred.

“Stop,” Eddie whispered, squeezing his face.

“Okay,” Richie said.

“What do you want to eat?” Mike asked, laughing. “I’ll order.”

“Chinese!” Bev cried while shoving Ben into the bathroom. “Egg rolls and General Tso’s for us!”

Mike snorted. “Okay. You guys want--”

Richie let out a scream where Eddie had been quietly leaning over his face and whispering something, and Eddie cackled. “Baby, baby,  _ baby!” _ he teased, wrestling to keep kissing Richie while Richie wrestled his way away.

In an impressive move, Stan vaulted over the other bed to put his hand between Richie’s head and the nightstand just as it hit and Richie and Eddie tumbled onto the floor. He groaned. “Yep, there it is,” he said. “Always back to this.”

Mike laughed. “Just for that leap, your dinner’s on me. That was amazing.”

“I don’t think Richie can afford any more concussions,” Stan said. “He’s already so dumb.”

“Fuck--!” Richie attempted from under the bed. “Fuck y--!  _ Stop!” _

“Never, baby!”

Stan sighed.

“Your dinner’s on me for the rest of the trip,” Mike said.

“That’s fair,” Stan said, gesturing at the two of them vaguely. “This, after all, is my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was going to make a note about the fact that i don't know how to make this descend into chaos like the losers inevitably would and in the time it took me to type that, i thought of something great, so. you know. sometimes i have ideas


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter comes with an extra warning for very open talk about abuse, bc i don't see people talk enough about how beverly gets stuck in a cycle of abuse and how that tendency is still there for her even if she were with ben bc that sort of thing is very hard to overcome

“Psst,” Bev whispered. “Richie. Get up.”

Richie cracked his eyes open, moving to say something before Bev slapped a hand over his mouth. He glared at her, but she put a finger to her mouth and pointed frantically at the door. 

“C’mon, I gotta… I need a breather, get dressed,” she whispered.

She sounded nervous, so Richie didn’t argue, slipping out of bed and pulling on pants and shoes while she snuck they keys from Stan’s bag. They tiptoed around the others and outside.

“What’s happening?” Richie asked, cleaning his glasses and putting them on. Bev looked extremely flustered.

“I just… I have to drive and breathe and think and I didn’t want to go alone because I thought I might just… like… take off? And that would be dumb. Right? That would be dumb, I don’t want to do that.”

“Okay,” Richie said, waiting for her to get into the car and roll down the window so he could climb into the passenger seat of Stan’s car. “You’re being very weird, but okay, I guess.”

She started the car with a small splutter, and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Where are we going?” Richie asked.

“I don’t know, around?” she asked, taking a random street.

“Right,” Richie said, watching her face. She wasn’t giving anything away. He sat back, yawning, and let her drive for a while.

“Is this about something specific or is it just… like… how you are?” he asked finally.

She let out a slow breath. “I found a ring in Ben’s bag,” she said.

Richie sat up straight. “Wait, seriously?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Is that a problem?” Richie asked, wrinkling his nose at her. “Do you not want to get married to him?”

“Of course I do, he’s fucking perfect,” she blurted.

He tried not to laugh. “Then what’s wrong?”

“He’s fucking  _ perfect!” _

Richie snorted at her. “And that’s an issue… why?”

She glared at him. “Come on, Richie, you of all people should understand what I mean.”

He mulled it over, considering any of the thousands of things he liked about Eddie. “I… Yeah. But… come on!”

“Richie, God, don’t laugh, just…” she said desperately.

The car made a concerning sound, and she quickly jerked her head back to pay attention to it, pulling over to the side of the road. It spluttered again and died.

“Oh no,” she said, letting her head fall onto the steering wheel.

“That makes sense,” Richie said. “It is Stan’s car, it probably got mad we were trying to fix it.”

Bev groaned at him loudly.

“Bev, Bev, it’s okay,” Richie said. “I’m definitely going to die out here first and you can eat my body.”

She gave him an appallingly sullen look, but she laughed anyway.

**

“Hey, guys?” Stan asked, shaking Bill awake. “Richie and Bev left early in the morning and they’re still not back. I’m getting worried.”

“They probably went for booze,” Eddie muttered, half awake. 

“Yeah, but it’s been like an hour,” Stan said.

“They get easily distracted,” Eddie said, but he was sitting up and looking for his shoes anyway.

“Not to mention they snuck out,” Stan added. “I was half awake but I think they took my car. What if they broke down?”

“We can drive around and see if we find them,” Mike suggested.

“Oh no,” Ben said.

“Oh no?” Eddie asked, now concerned.

“The ring is gone,” Ben said.

“What ring?” Mike asked.

“I got Bev a ring,” Ben replied.

Mike grinned, impressed, then said, “Oh,” as it clicked.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Bill said, getting his keys. “Stan’s right, they probably broke down somewhere.”

“Uh-huh,” Ben said nervously. 

Eddie groaned. “They’re either planning something weird or they went for booze,” he said. “Or both. And then they probably broke down.”

“I’ll see if I can find them,” Bill said. “Anyone coming with?”

They all put their hands up at once.

Bill sighed at them.  _ “Now _ you all want to come, huh?”

**

Richie groaned as the line rang and then disconnected. Not a single one of them was awake and in the hotel room? He hung up the phone. He didn’t have enough change to make another call, but there was a store nearby.

He trudged over, debating what to buy to get change.

The bell rang and the liquor shelf caught his eye.

Whiskey. Whiskey was a good idea right now. Or, if not a good idea, but a suitable one. He grabbed two bottles and paid, thanking the cashier.

He tried to call the hotel room one more time, but they were still gone.

He’d left Bev behind with the car and walked down to find a payphone, and she was still staring at the engine when he returned.

“It’s not any of the things I know about cars,” she said miserably.

“Pretty sure the others are already out looking for us,” he told her, handing her one of the bottles. “Come on, let’s drink and think.”

She shut the hood and took the bottle, taking a long drink as she slid down to the floor.

“Okay, so, yeah, it’s very intimidating to have a hot, sweet, beautiful man who loves you with all his heart wanting to marry you,” Richie started. 

“Oh, fuck off,” Bev muttered, unscrewing the bottle cap.

He grinned. “But what is it really that’s freaking you out?”

She sighed loudly. “If  _ you  _ could get married,” she said.

Richie sat down next to her, taking the bottle back to take a drink of his own. “Big if,” he said.

“I know, I  _ know,” _ she said. “But if you could. And Eddie proposed. What would you do?”

“Probably try to talk him out of it,” Richie admitted. “I mean, I think he’s mostly just into guys, but he’s  _ looked _ at women, right? Like it’s  _ occurred  _ to him. He could probably find someone he likes okay, and have… like… a family and… and…”

“Live in lukewarm unpassionate domestic bliss?” Bev said.

“Yeah,” Richie said. He knew it was dumb, he didn’t have to be told.

“Because when I think of Eddie, the first thing that jumps to mind is lukewarm and unpassionate,” Bev said. “He’d be very happy.”

“Shut up,” Richie said. “You’re the one having a crisis about marrying the love of your life.”

She softened. “You know adoption is a thing, right?” she said.

“I don’t think Eddie wants kids,” Richie said. “They’re kind of gross, let’s be real.” She nodded. “I just… It’s safer. And easier. And…” He groaned. “And he’d probably yell at me and strangle me into submission and then I’d say yes. Because of course I’d say yes. I want to marry him more than anything.” He took another long drink to avoid looking at Bev.

“I’m kind of a bitch for talking to you about this, huh?” she muttered.

“No,” Richie said. “I get it. You don’t have an Eddie literally fight you into accepting the things you want and don’t think you deserve. You just have me to make fun of you for being a real dumb bitch.”

She laughed, snatching the bottle back. “You’re one to talk Mr. ‘I’d try to pawn off my boyfriend to a woman he doesn’t love’,” she said.

“Alright, come on,” he said. “Honestly, what could go wrong? Worst case scenario. Hit me.”

She chugged a generous helping of whiskey. “I’m broken and fucked up and I keep him from being with a better woman because he won’t ever admit it and he lives the rest of his life not being as happy as he could be with someone else,” she said.

“Buuuuuuuuuull,” Richie crowed at her. “You’re not broken, numbskull.”

“I am, though,” Bev said. “You know, sometimes I want him to hurt me? Like, seriously. It’s just a thought that pops into my head and I don’t know why or how or…” She sighed. “Like, sometimes it’s a kink, because if it was just sex then I know he would never mean it and it’s sort of hot? And other times it just feels like it  _ should _ happen and it doesn’t even feel like my thought, it’s just a thing that happens in my brain that I can’t stop and it… just makes me feel disgusting.”

Richie nodded. “Like when things are good and you feel like that’s wrong because you grew up thinking it never would be?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“You probably get that more than me,” Richie said. “But… I know what you mean. Like I’m not… supposed to be happy with another man, it’s… Like I feel like I must have gotten confused somewhere along the way and things  _ should _ be bad.”

“God, yeah, that’s the other thing!” Bev cried. “I start thinking maybe he does want to hit me and he’s just really good at hiding it and someday it’ll come out, and then I hate myself for thinking that about him, because… God, I know he’s not like that. But sometimes I’ll be so fucking convinced I’ll get mad at him for lying to me even though I know he’s not and I can barely talk to him for a full day and… and he doesn’t even mind, he just gives me space and fucking waits for me to work it out and that’s  _ awful  _ because I’m being so unfair to him.”

“So what?” Richie said. “Eddie has grumpy days all the time. They’re cute.”

“It’s not cute that I think my excruciatingly gentle boyfriend might be a hidden abusive monster,” Bev snapped.

“I’m not saying it is,” Richie said. “I’m saying that when you love someone, you love all the worst parts about them too, even if it’s in some weird, frustrated way. I mean, Eddie gets these catastrophic panic attacks sometimes about stuff he’s learning about in pre-med, and exclusively in the middle of the night. And I wish he didn’t have them, because they suck for him, but I also really like that he sometimes shakes me awake at ungodly hours of the night to make me tell him 50 times in a row that he doesn’t have cerebral palsy or whatever fucked up disease he couldn’t possibly have. It makes me feel trusted and important and it’s really endearing. I mean it’s bad, but… I like that I’m the one there with him when it happens. And I’m sure Ben has some kind of similar feeling about your moody days.”

“That was very deep,” Bev said.

“Thank you. I have my moments.”

“Okay, yeah,” Bev said. “But how many women are there out there who just don’t have moody days?”

“First of all, everyone has emotions, Beverly,” Richie said. “And second of all, how do you know those women are going to be as hot and spirited and talented as you, huh? You’re a fucking bombshell of a woman, Ringwald.”

She whined at him, taking a long swig of the whiskey. “But I just… God.”

“You’re scared,” Richie said. “Because if things are good, they can go wrong. But listen to me. I had sex with a man. With the love of my life. Straight up got  _ boned _ by the teenage crush I  _ hated _ myself for.” He stole the bottle back and chugged. “And more than that, I sleep in the same bed as him. I let him spoon me gently while I drift off to dreamland every goddamn night, which is even scarier because everyone always told me that shit was wrong and evil and disgusting and it is  _ terrifying  _ to just lay there and enjoy how gentle and sweet it is instead. And if I can do that with the love of  _ my  _ life, you can get married to the love of  _ your _ life.”

“That’s true, if I had to live with the fact that you’re significantly braver than me, it’s going to haunt me,” Bev teased.

“Hell yeah it will,” Richie said.

She gave him a wicked look. “I’ll say yes if you agree to cuddle Eddie at night even around us.”

“You voyeuristic pervert,” Richie replied automatically.

“Oh my God, you tell me everything about your sex life, but I can’t tell you to let your poor boyfriend spoon you in front of us?” Bev blurted. “He misses you in his arms, Richie! Let the man spoon!”

“Yes! Sleep cuddling is much more provocative than sex, that’s a fact!”

She laughed. “How is that a fact? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“It does!” Richie protested. “It’s vulnerable! And soft! And soft things are much easier to stab if you’re a homophobic psychopath like Henry Bowers!”

She went quiet. “Oh, honey,” she said, and wrapped her arms around him.

“No,” he said, but he went into the hug easily. “Stop, don’t make it weird! I’m not… I just…”

“I know,” she said. “Trust me, I know.”

“It’s a fair deal,” Richie muttered. “It’s a really stupid thing to get frozen up about.”

“It’s okay to be scared sometimes, you know?” she murmured. “We don’t have Pennywise breathing down our backs, we can just… be scared and take our time sometimes.”

“I  _ know,” _ Richie whined. “I knoooow.” He reached for the bottle. “God, why is being happy so hard?”

She snorted. “Because we grew up in a town haunted by a fear monster?”

“Oh yeah, that.” He tipped the bottle at her. “Cheers.”

**

“There!” Bill shouted. “That’s Stan’s car.”

Mike pulled up behind it, and they all dove out of the car to look for Bev and Richie.

“Jesus, that thing is beautiful,” Richie was saying as they sat sprawled out in front of the car. He looked up when he heard them coming, beaming with his full face. “It’s Eddie!” He staggered to his feet and draped himself around Eddie’s shoulders, kissing his cheeks. “I love you so much. So so much.”

Eddie grimaced at him, putting an arm around him before he fell. “How drunk are you?” he asked.

“I’d have cut myself off ages ago if I was working the bar,” Richie said, listing to the side. “But I’m not, so we got  _ wasted.” _

Eddie caught him before he hit the ground, planting his feet to keep Richie mostly upright as Richie clung to him tightly, sloppily kissing his cheek. “Clearly,” he sighed.

Ben squatted down next to Bev. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Bev has something she needs to do,” Richie announced loudly. “Get in there, Ringwald, blow his socks off!”

“Oh, yeah,” Bev said, clumsily getting up on one knee, swaying dangerously. Ben held his hands out to catch her if she keeled over. “Ben, will you marry me?” She displayed the ring in her hand.

“I… yeah, that’s… I wasn’t going to propose to you now,” Ben explained. “I mean, yes. Yes, I will marry you, but not… not like, immediately. Maybe after you feel safe enough to agree without being drunk?”

“Fuck that!” Bev declared. “I want to get married! I do!”

“Me too,” Ben said, carefully holding her up as she wavered. “Um. But… like, later. I just really liked the ring.”

“It’s nice,” Bev slurred. It was a platinum ring with small rubies set into it, a lovely swirl pattern around them.

“It made me think of the poem,” Ben murmured.

“Winter fire!” she said. “Oh my God I love it. I want to keep it. It’s mine now.”

“Okay,” Ben said. “I mean, yeah, if you want to say yes now, we can have as long an engagement as you need.”

“Yes!” Bev said, attempting to get the ring out of the box with very uneven movements.

Ben eased it out of her hand and helped her, sliding the ring onto her finger. “If you want to wait a bit longer once you’re sober, though, that’s fine,” he said.

“No, shut up,” she said.

“Congratulations,” Mike said, though it was anyone’s guess if this was an actual engagement under these circumstances.

“Yeah, uh… Congrats?” Bill said, trying to express his sympathy to Ben silently. Ben shrugged at him helplessly.

“Woooooo!” Richie shouted from where he was wrapped around Eddie, Eddie’s arm the only thing keeping him from hitting the ground. Stan quietly stood poised to catch Richie if Eddie couldn’t keep him up.

“Richie’s gonna be my maid of honor,” Bev declared.

“Gonna be the best maid of honor,” Richie. “I am made of… of honor. Deeply honorable, my good lady!” He blinked at Eddie. “Are you holding me up?”

“Mostly, yes,” Eddie said, slightly strangled.

“Hot,” Richie breathed. “We’re gonna sleep together.”

“We’re already sleeping with each other, dumbfuck,” Eddie said, struggling to keep Richie up as Richie swayed dangerously.

“No, like, literally,” Richie said. “Literally sleep.” He lowered his voice like he was saying something forbidden, but they all heard him when he said, “In front of all our friends.”

“I really do not understand what goes on in your brain,” Eddie muttered.

“I love you,” Richie said, kissing Eddie’s collarbone as he slid further down. “And you know what? I don’t think marrying a woman you don’t love would be better for you. I think we’re very good for each other. And that’s very brave of me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but okay, sure,” Eddie said. “Come on, let’s get you to the car so you can lay down.”

“Okay,” Richie said. “But be proud of me.”

“Very proud of you,” Eddie said as Stan helped get Richie’s arm around his shoulders. “Can you try putting one foot in front of the other for me?”

Ben pulled Beverly into his arms, and Bill hurried to help Eddie walk Richie over to his car. Ben eased Bev into the back seat, and Eddie helped Richie crawl in beside her, then hopped in beside him. Richie fell into his lap, and Bev piled onto him, snoring softly.

“I’m going to help with Stan’s car,” Ben said. “Could you guys take care of her?”

“Yeah, we’ve got it,” Bill said. “Meet you back at the hotel room.”

“Might want to get the room for another day,” Stan said. “I don’t think those two will be going anywhere anytime soon.”

“Bring them some food for the hangovers whenever the car is running again,” Bill said.

Stan nodded. “Good luck.”

**

“Good morning,” Stan said brightly.

Bev groaned from where she’d sprawled across one of the beds like a starfish. “Oh, God, what have we done,” she said.

“I brought you guys cheeseburgers,” Stan said. “And I told the cook at the diner that it was for a hangover, so he put an egg on them too.”

She looked at her hand, now proudly adorned with the ring. “Yes! I did it!” she yelled, then groaned when it did nothing good for her headache.

“Shuuuuut uuuuuuup,” Richie moaned.

“Richie, fuck, I did it,” Bev said.

Richie untangled himself from Eddie to sit up. “What?”

“I did it.” She showed him the ring.

“Congrats,” Richie said blearily. “I think I hate you. Why would you let me get this drunk?”

“You know, you can take it back for now if you want,” Ben offered. “You were very drunk and I didn’t mean to spring this on you so soon, so…”

“No, back off!” she said. “It’s mine!”

He put his hands up in surrender. “Okay.”

“I swear if you don’t shut up I’m going to cry,” Richie mumbled, rubbing his temple. “I’m in  _ so  _ much pain.”

Eddie sat up next to him. “C’mere, baby,” he murmured, massaging Richie’s scalp.

“Ohhhhh, that’s good,” Richie mumbled. “Ohhhh man. I am so hungover.”

“You were very drunk.”

“Mhhhhhmmmm,” Richie managed, leaning into the touches coasting through his hair.

Stan set a takeout box in his lap. “Good and greasy. You’ll feel better after you eat.”

“You’re a real mensch, Stanley,” Richie slurred, opening up the box. He gathered up the burger and took a bite. “This is the best food I’ve ever eaten.”

“It’s not,” Stan said, handing the other box to Bev. “You’re just very hungover.”

“Yes I am,” Richie said. “Oh  _ man, _ my head hurts.”

They both struggled their way through the burgers, ignoring the stifled giggles from the others taking joy in their suffering. 

Bev stretched her arms over her head. “Okay, I need a shower.”

Ben helped her off the bed while she gathered her toothbrush and pajamas.

Richie crawled back to Eddie’s lap, resting his head there. “I’m in pain and I live here now.”

Eddie stroked his hair. “I’m down,” he murmured. “All mine forever.”

“Greedy bastard,” Richie retorted, turning his face into Eddie’s belly and curling around him like a roly-poly. “You smell nice.”

Eddie laughed. “What the fuck were you talking about earlier, me marrying a woman?”

“That’s irrelevant,” Richie mumbled in his shirt. “Sometimes I think things that are incorrect.”

“Yeah, you do,” Eddie laughed.

“Ah, fuck, it’s late,” Bev said. “I guess we’re not getting back on the road today, huh?”

“Nope,” Stan said. “But there’s a Frasier marathon on TV tonight.”

“I think I’m dying,” Richie moaned.

Eddie sighed. “Move up a little,” he said, getting Richie on his back and settling his head back into Eddie’s lap. He put his fingers to Richie’s temple and kneaded gently.

“Ohhhh, momma,” Richie moaned.

“Please never say that again,” Eddie said.

“Oh daddy?” Richie tried, cracking one eye open.

“Beep fucking beep, Richie,” Eddie muttered.

“Yeah baby?” Richie offered in a sultry voice.

“No,” Eddie said. “You started out the gate with the mom and pop kinks, everything out of your mouth sounds gross now.”

Richie grinned, reaching for him blearily. “I love you.”

“Mmmmm,” Eddie teased, “okay, that I’ll give you.” He leaned over Richie to kiss him. “I love you too.”

“I’d marry you if I could,” Richie mumbled.

Eddie combed his hair out of his face with tender motions. “Yeah, me too.” He sighed. “C’mere.”

He hauled Richie up so Richie was laying on his chest, rubbing his back. “We’ll just live vicariously through Ben and Beverly.”

“I’m a maid of honor,” Richie said.

“I know.”

“Someday, I bet,” Mike offered. “A lot of things can change given time.”

“If it’s ever legal we’re going straight to Vegas the day after and getting hitched,” Richie murmured, half asleep. “You guys can join us or not, up to you.”

“We’ll be there,” Ben promised.

“Bev has to come, she’ll be my best man,” Richie slurred. Eddie twisted a lock of his hair around his finger. “‘S gonna be a great wedding, we’ll have cake.”

“Is he already asleep?” Bill asked.

Eddie poked him in the face, garnering no response.

“Yep, he’s gone,” Stan said, turning the TV down slightly.

“Guys,” Eddie said, hugging Richie tightly with his arms and legs like a koala. “I love him so much, look at him.”

“He’s certainly a lot more lovable when asleep,” Stan said.

Bev finally returned from the shower, pushing dripping hair out of her face. “Okay, I feel slightly better.” She hobbled onto the bed and kissed Ben on the cheek. “It really is a wonderful ring.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Ben said, pulling her closer.

“By the way, Eddie, I know you already know this, but you’re dating a surprisingly deep and considerate man and if you ever break his heart, I will kill you,” she added.

“That’s fair,” Eddie said. “Feel free.”

She nodded solemnly. “I’m glad you agree.”

Eddie paused. “Did he suggest that I might want to marry a woman eventually?” he asked. “Because I don’t want him thinking…”

“No,” Bev said softly, sitting up to look Eddie in the eyes. “He said it’d be safer. But he knows it’s bullshit, he just worries.”

“Oh,” Eddie said, nodding to himself. “That’s okay then. I mean, screw that, but… As long as he knows how much I love him.”

“He knows,” she assured him. “Trust me.”

“I’m only dozing, y’know,” Richie mumbled.

“Shut the fuck up, we’re talking here,” Eddie replied on cue, squeezing Richie tight.

“Right, sorry, I’ll just go fuck myself,” Richie snorted into Eddie’s shoulder.

Stan laughed so hard he slid off the bed into Bill, leading them all to burst into giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> richie is a clingy drunk and that's all i have to say about that

**Author's Note:**

> Anyway please talk to me about these idiots.


End file.
